The hero X-less gritted his teeth as he helped up one of the officers off the ground, the man screaming from the deep gash across his leg. "Come on, get up!" he shouted, jumping from the loud ring of bullets beside him, looking up and seeing their foe once again. "God damn it…"

Itkomi was weaving between the barrage of bullets being shot at her, spraying her webs and swinging from the ceiling before flipping down onto the ground. She shot her webs onto one of the large boulders and whipped it around, smashing it into another of the officer's legs, shattering his bones instantly. Sensing the attack from behind, she dipped to the side dodging one of Eel Boy's incoming limbs from biting her. Hissing in annoyance, she grabbed the large mouth of the eel with her sharp fingers, yanking it towards her and piercing two of her spider legs through both of Eel Boy's shoulders.

"You all really pissed me off," She growled out over his screams of pain. "You had to make this so goddamn difficult!"

"Eel Boy!" X-less shouted as his eye charged up, "Damn you!"

Throwing the injured hero to the side, she flipped backwards avoiding the incoming lasers at her, her long spider legs catching herself before flicking one of the other boulders at the hero making him dodge. Her many eyes darted back and forth across the area, seeing her work done; six of the officers were already restrained in her webbing, and after she just sprayed the webbing across Eel Boy's back, she had one hero down as well. She didn't even care about the two dead officers on the ground, knowing some quirkless cops weren't going to be worth much for ransom anyway. And now, she just wanted to be finished with these annoying pests.

"Little bastards," She hissed to herself and shot webs onto a pair of boulders. "Time to end this!"

She flipped through the air and whipped the two boulders up behind her, spinning and whipping the two rocks like flails. Two of the officers couldn't get out of the way in time, the rocks smashing into their sides and launching them through the cave. X-Less set the officer down and shot out his laser cutting one of the webs and rocks quickly shot another beam cutting the second rock in half, but couldn't move fast enough to evade the web she shot, ensnaring his neck. He was helplessly flung through the air and slammed into the ground in front of Itkomi, gasping out before one of her spider legs pierced the glass covering his face, stripping him of the very eye that gave him his quirk.

Ripping out the bloody leg tip, Itkomi huffed out as he screamed in pain, she stomped on his neck knocking him out. She heard scuffling behind her, turning and frowning as she saw one of the officers stumbling up, grabbing one of the rifles from the ground and attempting to aim the gun in her direction. "Why do you cops even bother anymore?" she hissed out, forming a thicker web between her hands. "Normal humans are so useless these days…"

As the officer readied to pull the trigger, the web lashed out and slashed through his shoulder. His eyes widened in shock from the spray of blood on his side, the searing pain running through his body as his arm and the gun fell to the ground beside him. He screamed out in agony and clenched his hand over the open wound, only to be silenced as a spray of her webs launched him back and pinned him to the wall. Growling, the spider woman glanced around once more, seeing the group around her had been incapacitated now.

"Son of a bitch…." She hissed to herself, seeing this had taken a little longer than she had hoped. Her ears picked up footsteps from behind, turning to see her second in command coming her way, the battered lion hero slumped over his shoulder. "Finished as well?"

Snickering, Muteki gave a nod. "He was a bit tougher than I expected. Took a few minutes to bring him down."

Itkomi's brow raised at his statement before she saw the bruising on his body. Suddenly, she felt a wave of anger flood her mind. "You didn't use the gun, did you?"

Huffing out, Muteki shook his head. "Didn't need to."

One of Itkomi's spider leg stabbed the ground in irritation. "You idiot… that was to use on the top hero that came here so we could finish off the biggest obstacle. If those bullets work as well as we were told, then you should have been done in seconds!"

"Well I didn't. Besides…" Muteki dropped the unconscious hero onto the ground. "It would've been a waste on him. We only have a few of them. It's better to save them in case some of the other top guys get here before we are gone."

"Like your friend?"

Muteki growled at her taunt before sighing. "Yes. Just in case." He glanced over to his boss, noticing her arm and raising his brow. "Looks like you got hit, too."

Growling herself, Itkomi looked to her right below her shoulder and saw the line of blood falling down to her elbow. "It's a graze. One of the lasers got lucky."

"Hmph," Muteki grunted and stretched his arm. "Once the others get back here to the city, I'll have them take all these guys to the exit and out of here."

Sighing, Itkomi looked around and saw Dabi was nowhere to be seen. She hissed internally wondering where he had gone, but at this point didn't care. If he was left here in the cave as they left, she wouldn't think twice about leaving him here to deal with whatever heroes made it first. "Now we need the others to finish the younger ones off so we can get out of here."

"They better be done. All that they have to deal with are the kids and the sidekick." Muteki scoffed, but noticed the look on Itkomi's face. "What?"

Itkomi frowned to herself as her eyes darted to the closed off paths where the others got to. While she had seen images of the targets before they arrived, seeing them in person allowed a deeper insight to them. Her instincts gave off warning vibes to anyone she came across, and she could get a read off how much of a threat to herself they would be. While they weren't enough of a challenge for herself, she could tell they weren't normal kids. Not only in the way they carried themselves, she could sense there was something different about them.

Especially two of them.

"I will start moving these fools. Go and check the cavern for the others. Make sure they aren't slacking and finish the job." She ordered. "I want this to be finished and get the hell out of here before the other heroes find their way back."

"Die!"

Boom!

The explosion rocked the cave Bakugo was inside, blast ripping through the stone after the evading scorpion woman. Ducking in and out of the stone pilings, Sasori sprinted low to the ground as she spun back around, evading another blast as she leaped at the hero in training.

"You're quite the screamer aren't you?" she shouted as she swiped her claws at the ducking Bakugo, shooting her tail forward and piercing the ground where he was a second before he flew above. "Let's shut that little mouth of yours!"

"Not before I shut yours!" Bakugo sneered as he brought his palms forward. "Or I'll just blow yours off!"

The explosion swallowed up the hunter and the section of the cave, rushing outward as Bakugo grinned to himself. His smirk vanished as the stinger tip shot through the smoke and almost struck his face, suddenly met with Sasori face to face with him smirking back. "Nice try, you little brat!" she shouted as she brought her claws down into Bakugo's blocking gauntlets, sending him crashing into the ground.

"Damn it!" He growled as he jumped back to his feet, shaking his arms from that hit. "Those damn claws feel like Redheads hardening shit." he said out loud as the scorpion woman stepped his way, seeing the armor plating over her pincers. "So that's how she blocked my blast."

Snickering, Sasori pinched her claws as her tail flicked in excitement. "You're quick I'll give you that. Just means you're good at running away from a fight."

"Let's see who's the one running from a fight by the end!" Bakugo's hands sparked out at her taunt. "I'm just getting started here!'

Blasting forward, Bakugo unleashed a pair of explosions at the woman, her claws shielding her face from the bursts. Bakugo flipped around to the side out of her line of sight, shooting out another blast towards her head. To his shock, she dropped down underneath the attack despite being to the side. As she moved her claw slightly, he glared as he saw the second pair of eyes watching him. "Great… another multi eyed freak here."

Snickering, Sasori sprinted at Bakugo, weaving in and out of the blasts her target released. Surprised by how fast she was, Bakugo sneered and launched himself up above the woman before she reached him and let out and tightened his palms, unleashing a larger blast as Sasori came in close. The scorpion woman flipped backwards out of the way as she shot her tail and broke off one of the stone columns, gripping it in her claws and launching it at the teen above. As Bakugo blew up the rock, he knew she used that as a distraction and readied another blast and unleashed it. Once again, the woman's armored claws shot through the smoke at his face, Bakugo barely dodging it before her tail whipped around and went right at his chest. "You damn bug!"

Bakugo kicked out and struck the stinger away, but even through his steel boots he felt like he kicked iron. Hissing out, he spun through the air around her snapping claws and landed a point blank blast to her side. As they separated and landed back down, Bakugo glared seeing her standing there, the small tear in her dress from the blast, revealing the same armor plating on her tail. 'Her whole body is covered in that shit?' he growled internally, seeing she was going to be more durable than he thought.

Which only made him smirk with the challenge.

Glancing down at the tear on her dress, Sasori glared back up to the teen. "I only have a few of these dresses, you little bastard."

"You want an apology from me? Tough luck, four eyes." Bakugo taunted, "If you hunter assholes were as tough as you sounded, you shouldn't even have a scratch from me."

Growling, Sasori's tail whipped forward, her stinger dripping venom. "Let's see those hands of yours do anything once I rip them off!"

Bakugo chuckled and focused his hand in front of his open palm. "Time to blow that shitty armor off. AP shot!"

Sasori yelped as the beam burst out from Bakugo's hand, sprinting through the cavern as his technique ripped through the stone interior. Sasori hissed at the powerful attack following her, seeing something like that would certainly go through her armored skin. She was also frustrated at having to fight someone with a ranged ability, something that she always struggled with. But what pissed her off more was this kid himself. It wasn't because of the many blasts and explosions she kept dodging, or because of his smart ass mouth and remarks. She could deal with that.

What made her mad was how good he was.

'Who the hell is this kid? I thought he was just a damn student?!' She shouted inside her head as she leaped towards him, her claws piercing the stone Bakugo moved away from as her tail shot out behind her, almost striking the teen as he flipped backward and shot another blast hitting her back. Stumbling slightly, she growled and sheared off another chunk of stone, launching it at him who casually blasted himself over it. If she wasn't imagining it, it seemed like he was actually getting faster. 'I've faced a couple heroes over the years… and this little shit is tougher than any of them!'

Bakugo smirked as he flew through the cave, unleashing another barrage of his auto cannon at the scorpion woman, annoyed as she slipped in and out between the blasts. But he saw the look of anger on Sasori's face, seeing he was at the advantage here. Not only that, but with his winter costume on and the caves being slightly warmer than the cold outdoors, his body was producing much more sweat than normal. His blasts were becoming more powerful as he continued to fight, and he could feel his gauntlets already filled. He couldn't help but laugh to himself as he flipped over her striking tail, shooting a blast at her face forcing her to block. As they both landed on the ground, Bakugo laughed as he pounded his fist into his palm making it spark.

"I gotta say I heard a lot about you bastards and how dangerous you were. I think it must've been the other members they were talking about and not you." he snickered, making the purple haired woman bare her teeth.

"I was told they wanted to take you alive. I actually think it's better to rip that tongue out of your mouth so they don't need to hear your shit." Sasori snapped out. "I think I'm done being nice."

"You can cut the tough act, bug girl. Just because you can't keep up with me, don't try and pretend you're holding back," Bakugo aimed his left gauntlet at her and pulled the pin. "Not like it's gonna matter when you're splattered against the wall!"

Sasori's mouth dropped at the massive explosion bursting out from the gauntlet and almost engulfing the cave interior coming her way. "The hell?!" she gasped out, knowing there was no way to dodge this one. Crossing her arms in front of her body, her tail snaked around and attempted to shield her legs as she was engulfed by the blast. As Bakugo heard her yell out in the explosion, he laughed as the bright explosion began dissipating. Sighing, he reached up and wiped some of the sweat falling down his forehead.

"So much for a badass killer," he snickered as he looked at his unused right gauntlet. "And I have another one ready for your boss when-

The whip of the stinger shooting through the smoke shattering his gauntlet made Bakugo gasp out from shock and pain. He jumped back as the tail shot out once more, ripping off part of his mask but missing his skin. "Son of a bitch!" he snapped as he leaped back, watching the swaying tail as a figure walked through the smoke.

Sasori came through the cloud, large portions of her dress ripped apart and scorched. Her armor plating over her body, claws and tails were also scorched, including parts slightly damaged but still intact. Most distinct however was the burn across her face, forcing one of her right eyes closed. Despite her blood boiling from the damage she just took, she almost laughed out loud when she heard his remark about going for Itkomi.

"Save it for the boss…" she snickered through her pain and rage. "I can't ever even dream of getting to her level… and you think a little shithead like you have a chance of taking her on? You have no idea who you're messing with!"

Bakugo aimed his hands up as she sprinted forward, her armor shelled body tanking several of the blasts. She screamed out and shot her tail forward making Bakugo jump to the side, creating a smokescreen with his blasts to prepare another AP blast, but gasped as another chunk of rock came flying through his cover at him. As he blasted himself out of the way, his eyes widened as the scorpion tail shot at his chest, catching it in his palms just before the stinger pierced him. As he held it however, she yanked the tail to the side and slammed his back into the wall, pressing the stinger closer towards his chest.

"A stupid brat like you has no idea what she's capable of!" She yelled as she brought her pincer up and thrust it at his face. "You have so much to learn!"

Just as she about reached Bakugo's face, the sudden explosion between Bakugo's palms made Sasori scream out in pain. Jumping back, she gasped at the intense burning sensation on the end of her tail, most of the armor shattered off. She glared daggers at the teen through the dissipating smoke, a slash on his cheek from her claws. He only smirked however, his hands sparking out. "And you should have learned what my quirk was… that my blasts don't get weaker as a fight goes on… they get stronger!"

Bakugo shot forward and unleashed a powerful blast to her shielding arms before getting a good shot to her stomach. Once again, Sasori was now feeling like these attacks were getting through her plating, the burning sensation making her wince every time. She tried striking out back at the teen, but his speed allowed him to quickly evade it and land another shot to her shoulder, this time a piece of her armored skin itself blowing off. Now she began sweating from the heat, but mostly from the fear that began growing inside her chest; she had been told these were just kids and a few heroes they would be facing. She had even had encounters with a few heroes in the past, figuring these would be no different today.

But this kid was no average student… he even could have been considered at high pro level.

Stumbling back from another blast, Sasori coughed before baring her teeth. "Rah!" She screamed out and thrust her claws at the incoming teen, once again hitting air as he redirected around with his blasts. Whipping her tail around once more, she was caught off guard as he flipped over it and got behind her, but this time hooking his legs around her neck, taking a play out of a familiar pro he'd been working with.

"Fight's over, bug bitch!"

Using his blasts to create leverage, Bakugo flung the scorpion woman across the cavern, slamming her into the stone wall beside them. As she coughed out from the intense pain in her back, she barely stood up before she froze, staring straight at the pair of glowing palms directly in her face.

"Now die!"

The intense blast engulfed Sasori and the entire side of the cave, shattering the wall entirely and rocking the entire interior. Several of the stalagmites cracked and collapsed to the ground, leaving Bakugo standing there in the destruction. Taking several deep breaths, he stared through the dissipating smoke, he couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the result of his work.

Lying in the middle of the pile of rubble was Sasori, the woman's body twisted and her eyes rolled over white. She twitched several times before she slipped fully unconscious, followed by a chuckle from Bakugo.

"So much for a badass hunter. I actually thought it would be more of a challenge." He huffed out and wiped the sweat from his face. Not wanting to get dehydrated, he slipped into his belt and pulled out the small water bottle filled with electrolytes. Chugging it down, he wiped his mouth and stepped over the downed villain, seeing she had been blown into another cave pathway, making him snicker. "Look at that, I did have to beat the shit out of you to find the way out."

While not knowing where this path went, he still snickered at his joke and took off down the pathway. He still didn't like to admit it, but working with Mirko had probably done more for him than the entire school year. His power had grown so much in the last month that it was hard to believe where he was now, and he knew there was still more he could do. He now had his mind focused on finding the other hunters, and blowing away any of them to hell as well.

Skidding around a corner, Burnin gritted her teeth as she flipped around, launching several fireballs at the incoming snake. Just like earlier, she watched as Kobura slithered back and forth across the cavern pathway, dodging her attacks and coming straight at her. "Annoying worm!" She yelled out, enlarging the fireballs she formed and launching them at the cobra.

Laughing, Kobura rolled out of the way, slithering forward and raising his body back up. He opened his mouth and shot out his venom at her, watching as she flipped to the side and throwing another attack her way. "Way too slow!" He taunted, weaving back and forth whipping through the cavern pathway as she continued backing up.

"Stay still, damn it!" She shouted, bringing both of her hands together and unleashing a thicker beam of green flames out. Laughing, Kobura shot across the ground and wove through a group of stone columns evading the fire blast and launching himself at the sidekick. Burning ducked underneath evading his fangs as he flew over her, but gasped out as his tail grasped her thoat, feeling herself yanked off the ground and thrown across into the cavern wall. Gritting through the impact, she shot out another blast but missed once more, the snake man's hands gripping her wrists and pinning them to the wall. Once again the long tail flung up and wrapped around her throat.

Snickering as she gasped out, Kobura sighed and leaned towards her. "Well look at you, Endeavor's number one sidekick and this is all you can do?"

Glaring, Burnin swallowed as the tail coiled tighter. "You better watch what you say about Endeavor."

"Oh, I respect Endeavor's power. Such a shame that doesn't show in who he hires." He snickered as he leaned in closer. "It's funny you thought you were important enough to be our target. If you really were, I think we would've been disappointed."

Gasping as the tail slid across her throat, Burnin gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Seeing the league of villains member here, she knew exactly what was going on. "You're after her, aren't you?"

"Ding Ding, you hit the buzzer," He chuckled, "I have no freaking clue why he's so set on some stupid kid, but it doesn't matter. As long as we get money, that's what matters to us."

Despite coughing out, Burnin forced a smirk at the man. "So you get paid for service. You're… like a slutty hooker, aren't you?"

Hissing out, Kubura suddenly glanced down to her chest, grinning and leaning in closer to her face. "Well, perhaps I can give you some good service if you're interested." As his forked tongue flicked out and slid across her cheek, Burnin gagged as the slippery appendage crawled back and forth. She then reacted as the slimy worm slid over her mouth.

She opened up and bit down as hard as she could.

"GAAAAAH!" Kobura screeched out from the intense pain, letting go of her wrists for a split second from shock. Using her chance, Burnin spit out the bleeding tongue and charged her right fist, landing a powerful fire punch right into his chest throwing him back. Slithering back up, Kobura's tongue flicked erratically, the large gash across the top making him wince. "You stupid bitch!" He hissed.

Burnin rubbed at her throat and huffed out, spitting out some of the blood in her mouth. "You touch me with that disgusting thing again, and I'll make sure you lose it next time."

Wiping off the blood dripping out of his mouth, Kobura snarled and shook his hand dry. "I'll make you regret that!" he shouted and leaped forwards again.

Slamming her fists together, both of Burnin's fists ignited in flames as she bared her teeth. Then come on!" she yelled and thrust her hands forward. Creating a wave of flames rushing out at the serpent, Kobura hissed and hid behind one of the pillars. He scooped up one of the large rocks nearby with his tail and flung it around his shield, the stone cracking Burnin in the shoulder and making her gasp out in pain. As she stumbled backwards, Kobura took his chance and launched forward, spitting out his venom towards her face. Burnin's arm blocked most of the venom, immediately hissing as she felt it burning through her sleeves. Igniting her fire more, she torched off her sleeves and yelled in rage, her hair growing higher.

Kobura hissed himself, seeing she was actually stronger than he expected. For a sidekick, she certainly didn't fight like one. She was more talented than other pros, and was certainly making him try harder than he would've expected. As they engaged once more, the pair landed upon each other; Kobura's tail smashing into her stomach bruising her ribs, while her flames scorched his scales and muscles along the base of his tail. While it burned, he still fought through it and launched forward, ensnaring his coils around her body and squeezing.

"Get the hell off me!" Burnin yelled out in anger, the flames around her hands bursting out searing the snake mans body. But as he unwound himself, he shot his head forth and opened his mouth, his sharp fangs piercing her shoulder. "Gah!" Burnin gasped out as she stumbled backward, her hand grasping at the bite on her left shoulder.

Shaking his tail free of some smoke, Kobura snickered as he retracted his fangs. "Gotcha there. Now all I need to do is wait."

Almost instantly, Burnin could feel a slight numbness come to her arm, gritting her teeth and stepping backwards. "You poisoned me, you bastard?!" She shouted out.

"Of course. It makes it so much easier for me," He snickered. "Don't worry. I didn't inject enough to kill you, but you'll sure as hell not be moving for the next few days."

"Son of a bitch!" Burnin yelled and leaped forward, shooting a fireball off but missing him as he evaded. She kicked out as he came at her, but he swiveled his body making her miss before he spun around, slamming his tail into her stomach and sending her crashing into the rock wall. Coughing up blood, she fell to the ground, gripping her stomach from the cracked ribs she felt. And now, she suddenly felt the numbness spread a bit further, making her forearm retract and her fingers losing function.

As she crawled back to her feet, Kobura raised his eyebrow in surprise. Despite the many hits he dealt, she was still getting back up even with her injuries. He had to admit she was more sturdy than he thought she would've been, having felt the muscles underneath her outfit when he constricted her. The injuries he received weren't expected as well, somewhat impressed by what she did. But as she slowly stood up, he saw her panting hard, perhaps at her physical limit.

While she was strong… She was only a sidekick.

"Such a shame. I can see why you are what you are," Kobura taunted, slithering towards his target while she shook slightly. "I wondered if many sidekicks went on to do their own thing after a while, but seeing you now, I get it. You're tough, but nothing more than an errand girl, a little helper underneath a big hero to make yourself look better."

Burnin remained silent as she panted, her eyes lowering to the ground as he spoke. Seeing his words must've been true, Kobura laughed as his fangs lowered, ready to give another bite to make sure she was done and approached her. "I'm one of the weaker members of the hunters, and you still couldn't even stop me. I can see why you can't make it on your- Gah!"

Burnin's left hand clamping down on Kobura's throat cut his words off, the hunter gasping out as he grabbed at her wrist. To his shock, her grip didn't break as looked down at the woman. She continued staring down, the flames on her head growing larger and hotter. Suddenly she glanced up, her eyes carrying a crazed look that made his scales crawl. But it was not as intimidating as the maniacal grin on her face as she clenched her grip tighter.

"Just a sidekick, huh?" She growled out, chuckling through the numbness that began crawling up her neck. "You have no idea who the fuck you are talking to!"

The flames began growing hotter and hotter from Burnin's head, the immense heat causing Kobura's senses to go insane. He whipped his tail around to strike her face, but her other hand came up ensnaring his tail. Even as he tried pulling it back, Kobura was shocked as her grip was hard as stone, not budging as the burning flames suddenly engulfed her right hand. He tried screaming out as the fire scorched his tail, but he could only gurgle out as her hand tightened more.

"When I got to work under Endeavor, I couldn't believe my luck. My favorite hero is giving me the chance to work for him…" Burnin's arms became engulfed in green flames, growing larger as her outfit began smoking. "I saw the amount that he did as a hero, and I made it my mission to help him whenever I could. I knew I could never compare as a hero to him on my own, and I wanted to pay him back for the chance he gave me! But you know why I never went on my own?!"

Spinning around, Burnin slammed Kobura into the ground and unleashed her full power, her whole body becoming engulfed in flames. Kobura screamed out in agony as his own body was swarmed by the burning fire, the heat becoming so much he lost sense of everything else. The sound of scales cracking began echoing past the loud sizzle of fire, the bright green flames bursting out and filling the side of the cavern in a blinding show of force. Then just as fast as it came, it quickly died down before the flames on Burnin's body remained.

Gasping out, she stumbled backwards, her body so hot she could barely think. Her hand blindly went for the small extinguisher on her back, hitting the button and being sprayed by a blue coolant. Panting, her body sizzled from the liquid stopping the fire on her body, revealing her arms scorched from her own fire and nearly half of her costume burnt off, revealing her heavily bruised stomach. Her hazy eyes looked down to Kobura, the snake man's body completely scorched as he lay burnt on the ground unconscious.

She forced out a painful chuckle as she stepped forward, barely able to focus at this point. "You see… I didn't become my own hero…" She wheezed out, a grin spreading across her face. "Because I see what a hero does in the office… And dealing with my own paperwork would be the end of me."

She laughed out as she felt her vision going blank, the venom now creeping up her throat and making her breathing slow. Her strength finally gave out, collapsing down to her knees before falling forward and onto her stomach. She wheezed out several times as her eyes slowly closed, her mind slipping into darkness.

Roaring out, Rogue spun and swung his large tail, smashing it into the wall as Kendo jumped out of the way. Crawling back up, she expanded her right hand and threw a punch at her foe and crashed into his blocking arms. Once again she felt her attack stopped, the hard scales on his forearms like sharp armor making her knuckles ache. She ducked as he swiped his claws at her, his large jaws snapping her way making her yelp as they cracked near her face. "Jesus!" she yelped, moving back as the large crocodile charged her.

"Just lay down and give up, you brat!" Rogue shouted, his massive arms smashing into the ground shattering the stone missing Kendo, tanking another punch against his shoulder before spinning and throwing another tail swipe. This time he hit his mark, Kendo's large hands taking the brunt of the attack and throwing her back across the cave. While he handled the punch, the crocodile man shook his shoulder from the throbbing inside.

'This girl hits hard. What the hell are her mands made of?!' he growled internally watching as she stood back up. Despite being the lowest ranked hunter, he figured some random kid would've been no problem for him. But he had become surprised to see her deliver strikes that even he couldn't deal out. But he knew she was just a girl, and he only needed one hit to bring her down, something that made him chuckle.

Huffing out, Kendo's hands shrunk to normal momentarily, squeezing them to stretch out the tightness she felt from the hits she dealt. While she knew he was going to be tough, she didn't expect his body to feel like TetsuTetsu. His muscles covered in armored scales made him feel like a wall, not mentioning the claws and tail she was avoiding. But she was more concerned with the large jaws of teeth he had. She was no expert, yet she'd seen enough documentaries on crocodiles to know that if got bit once by that, she was not getting free.

Thankfully, she had been training recently, and knew how to deal with something like this.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and got into a kokutsu dachi stance, leaning back on her left leg as her left hand came above her head in her karate pose. "Come on!"

"Oh that's cute," Rogue snickered at her pose. "Are you going to do a little dance routine for me?"

"Why don't you come over and find out?" she taunted him, making him growl out.

"Fine, show me what you got!" Rogue roared out as he charged at the teen, his jaws wide open lunging towards her.

Kendo felt her heart jump, but braced herself and sidestepped and expanded his hands slightly to palm strike his head out of the way. She quickly followed it up with a powerful right hand to his stomach, the blow making him wheeze out. She yelled as she followed up several hits to his side and stomach, pushing through the slight discomfort on her knuckles. She knew if she could handle her steel friend, she could take this croc man.

"Little brat!" Rogue shouted and threw a punch at her, only for her hand to redirect it and spin to the side. He growled and threw several more swipes of his claws, but only grew angry as she continued redirecting his arms and making him miss. As he launched his jaws at her, he grunted as she threw an upward palm strike pushing his mouth upward and landing a powerful blow to his stomach. The hard blow knocked the wind out of his stomach making him buckle over, followed by another powerful punch to his jaws throwing him backwards.

Kendo took a few breaths as she watched Rogue stumble back a few steps. Thankfully for her this man was more brawn than speed, his attacks much slower than Shishido's that she had trained with over the last month. She knew his physical strength was too much for her to tank herself, so she used his larger size and pushed his attacks aside instead of blocking them. Use her smaller size as an advantage, get in close and land her blows before he could land his own.

As he stood back up however, her heart jumped when he grinned at her.

"Is that all you got?" He growled out, some blood dripping down the side of his jaws.

As Rogue came in once more, Kendo backstepped as he snapped his jaws at her. She continued to redirect his incoming strikes, but as he snapped his jaws closed, he swung his head like a club slamming into Kendo's hands sending her flying back. She yelped as she bounced on the ground, her hands shaking from the powerful blow she just felt. She didn't have time as his claws came towards her, flipping onto her hands out of the way as he slashed the stone. She threw several more punches on him, forcing him back before he spun once more and his tail, this time landing on her stomach and launching her across the cavern into the side wall.

Gasping out from the impact, she buckled to the ground and gripped her stomach, barely able to breathe from the immense pain. The sharp stinging inside meant several ribs were bruised, not mentioning whatever cuts and bruises on her back from the stone she slammed into. She forced herself up as he charged again, leaping out of the way as his head crashed into the wall like a battering ram. She yelled out and landed a powerful punch to his jaws knocking one of his teeth out, but she couldn't evade his claws as they raked across her shoulder making her screech out in pain. She stepped back gripping her shoulder, but couldn't do anything as he swung a backfist cracking her across the face.

Collapsing to the ground, Kendo's head spun as she barely kept conscious. Her cheek was slashed from the sharp scales as well, going from her ear and halfway towards her mouth. She coughed out blood from the gashes inside her mouth, her unfocused eyes looking up in terror as the hunter towered over her. She gasped as his large clawed hand reached down and clasped around her throat, lifting her up and off the ground.

"You're a tough little tramp, I'll say," Rogue chuckled as she grasped at his scaled arm, gasping inside his grip. "You actually hit harder than a few of us. Such a shame that strength is in something so frail."

Kendo's mouth trembled as she felt the grip tighten, cutting off the air she could breathe. She felt her vision fogging over, panic growing in her mind as she helplessly struggled to grab at his arm. Soon her mind began growing cloudy, the squeezing around her throat suddenly reminding her of something she experienced.

One week earlier: Shishido's training room

"Gah!"

Kendo gasped out as Shishido held her in a rear naked choke, panicking as his squeezed remained iron tight as she tried breaking his grip. Frowning, Shishido let go and let her fall, sighing as she dropped down gasping. "You panicked again, and didn't get out." he scolded.

Glaring, Kendo rubbed at her neck and took a deep breath. "You have a grip like steel. It's not like it's easy to get out."

"And yet you didn't even use your quirk. Your hands could've done damage if you used them with your quirk."

Kendo stood up and gave a small shrug, "I thought this was more of a combat style training."

"Combat is anything you use to get the advantage," Shishido explained as he got in his fighting stance, signaling Kendo to get into her karate stance as well. "And that is what we are doing now."

Exhaling, Kendo engaged the pro hero once more, following his movements as she tried landing a blow. While she could tell he was obviously holding back, she could also tell she was getting faster herself, enlarging her hands and blocking an incoming kick. She then countered a punch, coming in and throwing a punch making him block… and also sigh.

"If you are going to attack, you need to put your strength into it." he said and pushed back.

Growling, Kendo pulled back and threw another punch, this time really turning into it as it made him dodge. She enlarged both hands and began throwing them at the pro, redirecting the punches away from himself before bringing his knee up and crashing into her punch. While his leg did strain against her power, it only made him growl in annoyance and swipe at her face with his claws.

"Hey!" She gasped out, surprised by his attack getting so close. She grew mad and threw another barrage of punches, each one striking against one of his blows. Suddenly, he picked up his speed, overwhelming her and forcing her on defense. "What the?!-

She yelped as he swept her feet out, landing on her back and the hero pinning her down with his foot. As he let off, she was surprised to see him stomp away in anger. "What's the big idea? Mad I made you struggle?" She shot out, somewhat annoyed but confused by his temper.

Shishido sighed and shook his head. "I'm not upset I had to actually use some strength to block you. I'm upset you didn't go harder."

Now Kendo's eyes widened in shock at his statement. "What? But I was trying to hit you and-

"Trying to hit me and using your full power are very different," he explained, "I can feel the strength and the force behind your fists when I'm blocking. It's truly incredible. In fact if you keep practicing, I believe you can punch through anything… but only if you use your full power."

Kendo sat silent as he turned and approached her. "You are fierce and brave, which is a perfect combination for your power. But you are also compassionate and caring, which makes me sense you are subconsciously holding back your power. You aren't throwing in your full strength because you don't want to hurt. You need to remember when your life's on the line, not holding back can be your savior someday."

Slowly swallowing the lump in her throat, Kendo sat there taking in what he said. She really didn't think she was, taking a breath and nodding. "I'll try my best sir."

Bursting her eyes open, Kendo's right hand expanded out as she brought it down, chopping down onto his forearm. Rogue gasped out from the rush of pain through his limb, forcing his claws to release as he pulled his arm back. Dropping to the ground, the young teen gasped for air as she gripped her throat, feeling the shallow cuts from his claws. Despite her pain, her eyes were burning with fury as she stood up and charged the villain.

"You little bitch!" Rogue shouted.

"AHHHH!" Kendo shouted as she threw herself through the air, driving her massive fist into his chest. Rogue's eyes burst from his head along with all the air from his lungs, getting thrown back several meters and crashing onto the stone floor. Gasping out, the hunter clutched at his body, this hit much harder than the ones before. He crawled back up through the pain in his body but was met with another powerful punch to his gut launching him back again.

'What the hell?! She's… hitting so much harder now!' He screamed internally, gurgling up a mouthful of blood, his eyes looking up to see her glaring his way. 'Was she… how much power is she able to hit with?!'

Kendo breathed hard as she clenched her fists, her anger pushing her beyond her pain tolerance as she charged again. Yelling out as she swung out blocking his incoming tail, driving an uppercut into his stomach lifting him off the ground. She didn't stop there, not giving him a chance to strike back as she continued landing blows to him, feeling his hard scales buckling underneath her knuckles.

'Don't hold back. When your life depends on it… throw everything you got into your attacks!'

Screaming out, Kendo charged the stumbling villain, cracking him in the face with a right punch followed by left. And another right, hitting him over and over as his head rocked back and forth. Despite his solid skull, Rogue felt the hits ringing through his whole body, his vision going black as she attacked him. "AHH!" she yelled out, driving her whole body into an uppercut and straight into the bottom of his jaws. The loud crack rang through the cavern, the sound so harsh it even made Kendo's ears ring. As the silence fell over her though, she stepped back, watching as the large crocodile stumbled before falling onto his stomach.

Panting, Kendo stared down at the villain on the ground, her heart rate still jacked from what just happened. She shrank her hands and stared down at her shredded knuckles, but the pain wasn't what caused her hands to shake. In fact she barely felt any pain at all right now. The adrenaline in her body was so high she couldn't keep her hands still, somewhat shocked she just beat him. She stumbled and turned to head through the cave, still needing to find the others or a way out of here.

But the sudden scraping sound behind her made her skin shiver.

"RAH!"

Kendo flipped around and gasped as Rogue launched himself towards her, his bloody jaws snapping towards her face. She panicked and expanded her hands out, driving a punch into his face once more. At this point however he was a savage beast, his eyes rolled over white and reacting fully on his animal instincts. Leaping towards her, his claws swiping at her making her stumble back against the wall. She only had a moment to breathe before the wild beast crawled right at her and jumped at her once more.

His jaws opened up and went straight for her head, the teen's hands going up and grasping both the upper and lower jaws and stopping him. She almost screamed out as his teeth dug into her palms, But now panicked as he began pressing them closer towards her throat. Her arms shook as his growling mouth inched forward, her eyes wide in panic as she stared into the massive jaws of the crocodile. She gasped as she felt his hot breath getting closer, now fear climbing into her heart.

BOOM!

The sudden explosion to Rogue's face threw him to the side, Kendo's eyes widening as she saw Bakugo flying past her and landing on Rogue's chest.

"Now Die!"

One final explosion to the crocodile's face put him down, the smoke dissipating and revealing the finished off Rogue. Kendo took several breaths as she realized how lucky she was, turning to see Bakugo step towards her. "Thanks. I was-

"The hell were you doing, you idiot! You were nearly lizard food right there!" Bakugo snapped at her. "You let yourself almost get eaten by a lackey unless I saved your ass!"

…

…

"God you're such an asshole!" Kendo snapped back as she stood up. "Just so you know, I could've handled that on my own!"

"Oh yeah, you totally looked like you handled it being inside his mouth there!" Bakugo stomped in front of her, poking a finger in her chest. "Just so you know I finished him off!"

She blushed in embarrassment knowing he was right, but due to his ego she wasn't going to tell him that. "I did all the damage, you just took all the credit with him being weakened!" She pushed his hand away, but gasped as her bloody palm touched his hand.

Bakugo's brow raised watching her hands tremble, seeing the deep gashes on her palms. Sighing, he reached into his belt and grabbed a small bottle before grabbing her wrist, causing her eyes to widen.

"Hey what are you-

"Shut up…" Bakugo cut her off, popping the cap off and spraying the cuts. Immediately she winced out and tried to pull away, but Bakugo held her tight and glared. "It's disinfectant, dumbass. Don't move."

Kendo clenched her eyes from the stinging sensation, wincing as the chemicals hit her cuts. She forced her eyes open to see him now spraying the other palm, the pain now in her other hand. After a moment he then bit on his sleeve, ripping off some of his costume. "What are you doing?" She asked in confusion.

"Lost my damn bandage wrap fighting that scorpion bitch, so I got this. It's getting too hot in this cavern anyway." He grunted and wrapped the torn sleeves around her palms, tying them off and exhaling. "Quit being such an extra and kick their asses on your own next time, got it?"

While she glared at his remark, she looked down to her palms and sighed. "Thanks."

Grunting, Bakugo turned back to the large man on the ground. "So you ran into this giant bastard, and I had the four eyed freak. I wonder if hair loops and the others got jumped as well."

"We have to go and help them!" Kendo said, looking down the path Bakugo came from. "Are there any other paths back there?"

"There's one I saw, but when I heard the shit going on here I came and saved your ass." Bakugo scoffed, causing Kendo's eyes to twitch in annoyance. "Now that we are done here, let's go and beat the shit out of the rest of these villains!"

While she certainly was still pissed at his attitude, she couldn't deny that letting her guard down almost was the end of her. If he hadn't come by, who knows what could've happened. As she chased him down the cavern, she swallowed her own pride and nodded. "What happened back there… thanks."

"Whatever. Let's just beat these guys asses and show them who they messed with!"

Katara and the hero Takeshita stood ready as Kavik blocked their way, the massive leopard seal standing over a meter above herself cracking his knuckles. "I'll make an offer to you both now. If you simply come with me, I'll assure you no harm will come to you. If not…" He gave a small shrug, "I can't promise nothing won't be broken."

"That's definitely something we aren't agreeing to," Katara retorted, flicking her gauntlets open and pulling out water over her shoulders. The hero beside her stepped forward as well, pulling out several of his bamboo pieces from his pouch. Seeing both of them want to fight only made Kavik frown, growling through his clenched teeth.

"You both realize your predicament, don't you?" He asked them, "You are stuck inside this place, and have no way of finding the way out of here without help. You're outnumbered and outgunned without your top heroes. I'd rather keep this less messy if I can."

"Oh yeah? Then get out of our way!" Takeshita shouted and threw the small pieces forward and clenched his hand. Instantly the pieces burst outward, growing into full sized bamboo stocks and rushing at Kavik. The leopard seal quickly got into position and struck the pieces aside, weaving as the hard bamboo pierced the walls. Just then Katara thrust her water whips forward, missing as Kavik flipped underneath the stream and rushed towards them. "Get ready!" Takeshita shouted and swung his arms in, forcing his bamboo stocks to swing in towards Kavik.

"Got it!" Katara answered and launched her water to the opening between the closing bamboo at Kavik, But felt her mouth drop when he charged through her water like a bulldozer, both her and Takeshita flipping out of the way as he slammed his fists into the ground. She sneered and launched out multiple ice spikes, only for the villain to duck and weave through them while punching and shattering the ones coming at his chest. Even as another bamboo stock rushed in at the villain, he weaved to the side and snapped it in half with a palm strike, grabbing the item and launching it back at the pair. Katara swiped upward and slashed the incoming bamboo before throwing the water at Kavik, opening her palm and spreading the water out like a bubble encircling him. Instantly she waved her hand up, freezing it and locking him inside.

Only for the ice to be shattered outward instantly.

Katara's eyes widened as he casually flexed his muscles, brushing off some chunks of ice from his shoulders and staring up unamused at her. Even as the pair of them attacked him once more, she was left in disbelief as she created a thick mist around him and froze it once more, and yet he simply flexed once more, shattering it again with no difficulty. Her mind went back to when she faced Gang Orca, and how his animal anatomy made her bending practically useless against him. Now she saw this guy was similar; His leopard seal quirk meant he was basically immune to ice and water would do very little against him.

Quirks truly were insane.

As Takeshita extended out a bamboo bo staff, he spun it around himself before charging at the large opponent, yelling as he slammed his weapon into the man's blocking arms. Katara formed her water into more narrow whips of water, increasing their speed and launching them at him as well. Their eyes only widened as he flipped backwards out of the way, his speed very deceiving to how large he was. Even as the water gave chase to him, his amazing flexibility allowed him to lean so far back his back was parallel to the ground, the water striking the stone behind. Even as she slashed downward, he rolled himself out of the way and launched himself forward. Her spinning water whips however forced him back, the hunter watching her movements with a raised brow.

'She's talented,' Kavik said internally, dodging the thick stocks of bamboo shooting his direction but keeping his main focus on the teen, launching a chunk of stone in her direction to have it slashed in half. 'She's more of a threat than this hero here.' He kept his distance momentarily as he evaded several more attacks, watching both of their styles. He could see Takeshita was pretty straight forward, but this girl's attacks had a large variety in style. The way she moved showed she wasn't a newbie, and shouldn't be taken lightly.

Something that made him chuckle.

As Katara launched several ice spikes his way, she glared as he snatched one from the air and launched it back at her, throwing her hand up and stopping the projectile inches from her face and shot it back his way. Shifting his head, Kavik grinned as the ice whizzed by and struck the wall. "Not bad, kid. No wonder the number one hero requested you."

Frowning at the comment, Katara prepared to open her canteen as well, but was surprised as a wall of bamboo suddenly burst up between herself and the hunter. "What the?"

Breathing hard, Takeshita lowered his hands after creating their obstacle. "It will take him a little to get through that. Come on"

"What? What do-

"We can't focus on him. We need to get to the surface!" Takeshita declared and ran down the pathway. "Come on!"

Katara sat confused for a moment as to why they didn't make sure he was down, but knew the others were needing help as well. Even if they didn't get out of these caves, they could find the others and give them aid. The sudden snapping of bamboo as she ran certainly made her heart jump, the wall shaking as the villain began breaking his way through it. She hated running from a fight, but the safety of everyone else was certainly more important. She guided her water back into her gauntlets, shutting them as she glanced over to the hero beside her. "How did you do that by the way?" she asked.

Takeshita reached into his pocket and pulled out the many small cut off bamboo pieces. "I con control bamboo. I can make it grow and guide its movements as long as I have some around since I can't make it."

Katara's brow raised in surprise at his explanation, giving her a similar feeling to the swamp benders she met in her adventures. For a split second, she actually grew curious herself about bending, but stopped as they rounded the corner and came into what looked like a large stone warehouse to the side. Inside it there were several large crates throughout along with some large pipes on the walls, and what looked like a steel door on the other side. "There, that has to be some way out." Takeshita said and went inside the large room.

"But we don't know where it goes. It could go deeper into the mountain." Katara warned.

"We don't have a choice. Either it's a way out, or we can get help for the others inside."

As he ran inside, Katara sighed but knew it logically was the only option they had and followed him in. Sprinting across the large space, they reached the door and attempted pushing it open, only to have it locked. "Damn it…" Katara hissed as she went to open her canteen, but yelped as Takeshita grabbed her shoulder and pushed her against one of the crates. "Hey! What are-

"Shh…" he whispered, putting a finger to his mouth, slowly letting go of her and glancing over the crate. Katara looked as well, her eyes wide as Kavik's shadow was visible approaching. "Shit… he broke through already." he said.

Katara took a breath as she watched the shadow grow larger. She hid more as he walked by the opening, hoping he would assume they wouldn't just hide in a mostly exposed place and move on searching. As he poked his head in the room, however, she saw his nostrils flare out, obvious he was sniffing out his prey. Then, there was something she didn't expect.

Click. Click click click.

The strange clicking sounds seemed to echo on the cave walls, bouncing around and seeming to come from multiple directions. After a second the thick whiskers on Kavik's face twitched, bringing a grin to his face. "You may as well come out from there. I know you're behind the crate." he said, his whiskers picking up the echolocation waves.

Katara should've felt shocked, but after dealing with animal quirks like Tsu, she was starting to expect things like this now. She ignored the protests of the hero beside her, stepping out into the open and staring down the leopard seal man. "I don't need to hide from you." she retorted, earning a small grunt from the villain.

"Brave, I'll say. You certainly have heart." Kavik stated as Takeshita came out as well, sighing and cracking his neck. "It's a shame you have to protect someone weaker, taking away your ability to focus on me."

Takeshita glared and grabbed one of the thick bamboo sticks from his back. "Keeping anyone safe is part of my job. I-

"Please…" Kavik grunted in annoyance. "Sorry if I boosted your ego, but I was still talking to her."

Takeshita's mouth dropped in surprise at the statement, glancing over to Katara beside him. The waterbender looked up to him as well, unsure what to say before she turned back and flicked her gauntlets and her canteen open. "If I'm supposed to be flattered by your statement, don't expect a thank you." She paused as the water rushed out above herself, the large streams forming into a trio of large water spheres. "But you're right. I will always protect others."

Snickering to himself, Kavik knew he still had to figure out what her power could do. Knowing she was the main target, he knew she was essential to be captured, and certainly wasn't going to take her lightly. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out a pair of escrima sticks from his waist belt. He spun the steel batons in his hands and got into position, readying his stance and giving a nod to his foes. "Alright then, go ahead and protect someone."

Takeshita felt at a loss of words to what was happening before him. Never had he been in a situation where a villain perceived a kid as more of a challenge than himself. In fact, he felt like the sidekick here. His thoughts were cut off as Katara's spheres of water shot out thick tendrils, rushing at the villain like an army of snakes.

"Come on!" Kavik shouted, spinning and swinging his weapons batting at the incoming streams. Flipping them in his hands, he broke through the water every time it came close to him. Cracking through the whips, he then noticed a green bamboo stock rushing his way, growling as he twisted his body around and smashed through it with his baton. It seemed seeing the teenager fighting gave the hero some confidence, which to Kavik it was only a hindrance for himself. He only glanced at Takeshita's attacks, his speed much slower than Katara's. In fact, even with his training he had with the other hunters, he had to say he was impressed by her talent.

Jumping through the air and smashing through a large stream, His eyes scanned back and forth between the water and the girl. He watched as the water followed the movements of her arms, copying the path and actions her hands made with each attack. The style, the speed, and everything else he took in. He grinned as he dropped low and charged forward, bashing at the incoming water and bamboo attacks as he closed the distance in an instant.

"Get back!" Katara shouted, waving her left hand and guiding the loose water behind Kavik and rushed it at him, while her right hand clenched as she brought the water around both her and Takeshita.

"Hm?" Kavik hummed out as he saw the sphere form around the pair, but quickly noticed the water rushing him from behind. Flipping backwards, he crossed his weapons and smashed through the water, only for his ears to notice the whizzing sound of ice spikes coming his way. Spinning midair, he quickly began smashing each incoming icicle, his eyes catching the stocks of bamboo shooting through the center of ice. Growing annoyed, he planned to end this now.

'Go for the stronger threat first, then the weak one always follows.'

From inside the water barrier, Katara watched as Kavik launched one of his weapons at her shield. She instantly froze the barrier, the baton striking into the ice and cracking slightly. As Takeshita readied his bamboo once more, but gasped as the current stocks on top were broken and launched down as well, the multiple pieces were thrown so hard they cracked the top of the ice. Before she could reform the ice, Katara yelped as the ice shield was shattered as Kavik burst through the top, spinning his baton and swinging it at her head as he threw a back kick into Takeshita's side.

"Gah!" Katara yelped as she ducked to the side, the metal whipping by her face as she thrust her hand up, bringing the ice around her down over the seal's head and freezing it. Despite his head frozen, Kavik still threw a straight punch at Katara, the teen forming an ice shield in front of herself… only for his large fist to shatter the ice and plow her in the chest.

"Ryujin!" Takishita shouted as she was thrown to the side. He couldn't even run to check on her, as the leopard seal leaped towards him, the ice around Kavik's face shattering from his claws gripping it. He reached for the bamboo staff on the ground beside him, but the large foot of Kavik came down and shattered his forearm, making him scream in agony.

After Katara bounced on the ground, she wheezed out as she struggled to breathe. The impact to her chest felt like a sledgehammer hit her, gripping at her sternum and hyperventilating. Reacting on instinct, she summoned water and immediately began healing her chest. As she crawled up, she forced in breaths as the pain subsided, grabbing one of the nearby pipes as leverage. When she did, she suddenly felt a sensation from inside them, something that made her eyes widen. She then sensed something else … Something else that she never noticed until now, her senses having increased in the threat of battle with her adrenaline.

Slamming into the ground, Takeshita could barely move as kavik's large fist lifted up from his back. Seeing him down, the hunter grunted in success as he slammed down into the heroes other arm, the crack he heard and the scream of pain showing it fractured as well. From the intense pain, Takeshita passed out, leaving the leopard seal victorious as he reached down to grab his target. "Time to get back." He mused out, only to yelp out to the sharp crack to the back of his head.

He flipped his gaze around and in surprise saw one of the bamboo trees bent back, the normally stiff stem curved like a whip and flicked at him again. He countered it with his remaining baton weapon, looking down at the unconscious hero on the ground. 'Is it reacting in defense to him? No…' he hissed, looking back to see another large stem whip his direction, bringing his weapon up and blocking it. 'He could only make them grow out and shift them slightly. He didn't have control of them like this.'

Landing on the ground, he watched as several more tall stocks suddenly shifted and curved downward, striking at him like snakes and making him block and flip backwards. Once he moved away from the few tall bundles of swaying bamboo, he eyed their movement, now knowing exactly what happened. "Interesting…. I didn't know you could do that as well." He said out loud turning to the source.

Katara's hands moved back and forth, guiding and swaying the bamboo with plant bending.

After sensing the the water inside the stocks, it took her a moment to feel the small flow inside the dense material. She had felt a small sensation inside as Takeshita was using his quirk, but she assumed it was seeing something familiar. Now, she realized it was her senses telling her there was another source to use. And as she saw the battered hero on the ground, her heartbeat was racing in rage, all of it focused on the large seal in front of her.

"You aren't going to hurt him anymore." She warned, waving her hand and gathering the loose water on the ground around her. "If you want to fight someone, I'll give you a fight."

Growling, Kavik tightened his grip on his weapon and spit out on the ground. "I was right… you certainly are the bigger threat here." he stepped back and grabbed his other weapon, cracking them together and breaking off the ice. "My anatomy allows me to practically be immune to the cold, with water not being a major threat to me, so you adapted your style and used the water in his plants. Clever. I can see why I sensed something different about you."

Katara only glared at him as she formed a sharp ice spike beside her. "You have no idea what I'm able to do." she hissed, launching the ice spike and piercing the large pipe on the wall. With a loud crack, the steel began buckling from the pressure before bursting outward… gushing water into the warehouse.

"The main line," Kavik sighed out as their source of water to their entire facility had to run through this storage warehouse. After only a few seconds, over a hundred gallons of water had flooded into the room around her, with it growing with every moment. "It's actually a blessing for us that I was the one who came across you. I don't think the others below me would be able to face you."

Ignoring his somewhat compliment, Katara instead took a breath as she felt the water flowing by her feet. "Dabi came and hired you to get me. Why?" She demanded, earning a scoff from the hunter.

"My job is to simply carry out my bosses orders. That's it. You can make whatever assumptions you like for yourself, but don't act like an answer is coming from me."

Narrowing her eyes, Katara waved her hands for a moment as the water around herself came in, circling around her feet and lifting her off the ground. She created a massive stream of water behind herself in the air, before angling her hands and guiding the nearby bamboo to aim at her opponent. "Either way, I am getting through you and anyone else here and helping my friends!" She shouted.

Seeing her many attacks dance around herself made Kavik smirk, not expecting a challenge at all from the lower heroes, let alone a student in training. In fact, with control and power like this, she was easily above a lot of pros. While not toying with his target like Kobura did, he now felt that enjoyment he talked about; feeling a bit of a challenge from someone instead of it being so easy and straightforward. He knew to take this girl down, he would actually have to go all out.

Scraping his steel weapons together, Kavik stepped through the rising water and got into position. "Alright kid. Let's see what you're really capable of."

Notes: Ohhh! Katara displaying a new addition to her arsenal of bending!

Got many of the students battling through the hunters, and now we get one step closer to the climax!

So did I make Burnin stronger here than in canon? Perhaps? always kinda annoyed me the top sidekick to one of the strongest heroes never got to do anything in canon, so giving her some time to shine.

(And I'll edit this through the day for grammar. just had to get this out to you being a day late.)

What did you think of the next generation of heroes? comment below and let me see your thoughts to this and what's to come! Till next time!